March 2017 // Archive

Losing Weight: The Most Important Thing You Need to Know (and what you must forget)

I got a great question the other day from one of my clients who was getting a little confused about what’s meant by ‘good’ nutrition. Nutrition for weight loss can be a bit of a minefield with so much conflicting information on the internet and in the media.

I’m going to put things straight and lay out what you need to know about nutrition when it comes to weight loss (and what you can forget). I’m going to share with you the single most important factor when it comes to losing weight.

How many different diets have you come across when you’ve been searching for an answer to lose weight?

Low Carb

High Carb

Low Fat

High Fat

Atkins

The list is endless!

But what’s the correct approach? What information should you listen to as well as who not to listen to?

I’m going to keep things super simple so it’s really easy to understand. Because, let’s face it, if it’s confusing and overwhelming, you’ll struggle to take action and implement what I want to share with you.

This is for you if you want to focus on getting better weight loss results and change your body shape for the better!

So let’s dive in…

The most important factor when it comes to weight loss is calories in VS calories out.

Whether you’re on a low carb diet or following some other protocol, it all comes down to manipulating how many calories you’re taking in.

Let’s say for example you’re on a low carb diet…

All you’ve got to do is minimise the amount of carbs you allow yourself to eat which means you’ll be limiting the overall amount of food you’re eating. You could set yourself a rule of not eating carbs after 6PM. A lot of people I’ve worked with tend to snack around this time and reach for the take away menu. Reducing your carbs in the evening will lower your overall intake.

Every single diet or healthy eating protocol you see, no matter how fancy they are, they all essentially do the same thing (if your goal is weight loss). They get you to reduce your calories putting you in a calorie deficit so you can easily lose weight.

At Next Level Performance, we don’t try to over-complicate your nutrition. We make sure we focus on the easiest possible way for you to improve your body shape. If for example weighing each of meals out sounds like too much hard work and you know it’s not sustainable, then we’ll find an easier solution. We could measure your food intake by using your palm as a portion size indicator.

A palm sized piece of protein, a fist sized portion of carbs and and a thumb sized portion of healthy fats could be an example of a balanced meal.

What can you do right now?

Start by looking at the overall calories you’re consuming each day. Begin reducing them a little at a time. Make sure you don’t reduce them too much at first – we don’t want to destroy our body and deplete our energy supplies.

Your body needs a certain number of calories just to function on a day to day basis. Your heart, your brain and your digestive system all require calories to function.

Are you struggling with your weight loss and knowing what to eat (as well as what to avoid)? Well, I’ve got some great news for you…

If you head on over to www.nextlevelrecipes.co.uk , you’re going to find a whole section dedicated to identifying how much food you need to be eating on a daily basis to achieve your body composition goals. You can easily log on, input some simple details and you’ll know straight away how many calories you need to be shooting for every day. It’s really simple!

Do calories matter?

Like I said before, the main factor that determines your weight loss is calories in VS calories out. You have to be in a calorie deficit to lose weight. Say for example you maintain your weight by eating 2000 calories a day, if you lowered your overall intake to 1800, you’d lose weight – you wouldn’t have to worry too much about where your food was coming from.

However…

If you’re looking to keep your immune system strong and maintain an overall healthy body, it’s essential to focus on where your calories are coming from. You should be looking at getting the majority of your food from ‘healthy foods’. These are foods that have been grown from the ground or are animal sources as such as potatoes and rice or chicken and beef.

Eating these kinds of foods will massively improve your energy levels and overall bodily functions compared to eating the same amount of calories coming from less optimal food such as takeaways and fast food.

Summary

Right now, all I want you to do is focus on your portion sizes and reducing them down a little step at a time. Don’t go crazy! The lower you deprive your body of the calories it needs, the more uncomfortable you’re going to feel and the less optimal you’re going to perform. And as you’ll know, at Next Level Performance, we’re all about getting you performing at your absolute best.Nutrition is really simple when it comes to losing weight and you stick to the few key basics I’ve shared with you. Not only is it simple, it’s what you’re going to be able to stick to in the long term.

You don’t have to cook fancy food or complicated masterpieces – just good food from fresh ingredients

That’s all for today. Make sure you check out www.nextlevelrecipes.co.uk for some fantastic recipes to follow as well as a simple calculator to figure out how many calories you need to be eating on a daily basis to achieve your health and fitness goals.

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About Us

I work with athletes, rehabilitation programs and successful weight loss strategies to improve the health and fitness of my clients
with the view to becoming the best personal trainer in the Runcorn and Widnes area.